Sheinkopf, a spokesman for comptroller candidate David Weprin, said Katz "lives out of the real estate industry" and "that’s where her allegiances lie."

A spokesman for Katz's campaign, Ben Branham, disagreed with the characterization of Milstein as a one-dimensional creature of the real estate world, noting he supports a number of charitable causes.

Branham also said that the wider argument that Katz is beholden to the real estate industry is inaccurate.

He said she's the "only candidate in the race who’s sat across from developers and gotten them to build affordable housing, parks and schools. None of the candidates can say they sat across the table from developers and forced them to create affordable housing and prevailing wage jobs."